Pears And Figs Poached In Red Wine Recipes

SPICED RED WINE-POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• In a 4-quart saucepan, combine wine, sugar, orange juice, zest, cinnamon stick and cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. While liquid is simmering, peel pears, leaving stem intact and being careful not to blemish the flesh of the pears. Slice 1/2-inch off the bottom of the pears to create a flat bottom. Gently place pears in poaching liquid, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes to ensure even color, until pears are cooked but still firm. Remove saucepan from flame, uncover and cool with pears upright in pan. Once cool, cover and chill in refrigerator at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours, turning occasionally, if desired. Gently remove pears from liquid and allow to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, reduce liquid by about half over a medium-high flame for 15 minutes, until liquid is thicker and slightly syrupy. Remove from flame and let liquid come to room temperature. Drizzle each pear with 2 tablespoons syrup and serve.

RED WINE POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Juice the lemon and orange, reserving the juiced citrus halves. Put the juice, citrus halves, wine, water, honey, ginger, black peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, star anise and bay leaf in a wide saucepot. Gently place the pears into the liquid. Make a circle of parchment paper that is 1/2-inch larger than the pot and cover surface completely with the parchment paper (see Cook's Note*). Make sure the pears are fully submerged but not touching the bottom of the pot. Bring the poaching liquid and pears to a boil, then reduce the heat to just below a simmer.
• Cook the pears until fork tender. Test for doneness by inserting a sharp knife in the base; there should be little resistance when fully cooked. Gently transfer pears to a glass or ceramic bowl. Pour enough poaching liquid over pears just to cover. Cover and refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight; the longer the pears soak, the darker they will become.
• Strain remaining poaching liquid and return to saucepan. Cook over high heat until a syrupy consistency is achieved or the syrup coats the back of a spoon. Chill until the pears are served.
• Use a parisienne scoop to remove each pear's core, hollowing out a 1-inch wide cavity that starts at the base and extends 3/4 of the way up the pear. Transfer the Creamy Pistachio Nut Filling to a piping bag without a tip. Gently fill the pear cavity until it slightly overflows. (The overflow will help to provide a sticky surface to stand the pear up on.) Place the pear, base side down, in a bowl and surround with 1-ounce of the syrup. Serve.
• In a medium-sized bowl, cream the mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla together. Stir in the pistachio nuts.
• Use immediately or refrigerate and return to room temperature before filling the pears.

POACHED PEARS IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Remove the pear cores and slice pears lengthwise into eighths or twelfths.
• Set the pan over low to medium heat, bringing the wine to a simmer. Add pepper to taste, and then poach the pears for 5 to 10 minutes, until soft. Flip the pears halfway through so that both sides of the slices spend some time in the liquid.
• Remove the pears from the liquid. If desired, you can reduce the liquid down to a syrup to pour over the fruit. The pears can also be served with caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

POACHED PEARS IN SPICED RED WINE

Steps:

• Halve the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the black seeds and put in a large saucepan with the wine, sugar, cinnamon and thyme. Cut each piece of pod into three long thin strips, add to pan, then lower in the pears.
• Poach the pears, covered, for 20-30 mins, making sure they are covered in the wine. The cooking time will very much depend on the ripeness of your pears - they should be tender all the way through when pierced with a cocktail stick. You can make these up to 2 days ahead and chill.
• Take the pears from the pan, then boil the liquid to reduce it by half so that it's syrupy. Serve each pear with the cooled syrup, a strip of vanilla, a piece of cinnamon and a small thyme sprig.

RED WINE POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients but pears in a large saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add pears and cover with a parchment round. Reduce to a simmer and cook until pears are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. If necessary, turn pears very gently by rotating the stems with your fingertips so they cook evenly. Remove pears to a bowl, bring poaching liquid to a rapid boil, and reduce by half, about 10 minutes.
• Pour reduced syrup over pears and refrigerate, covered, for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Serve in shallow bowls or cups.

PEARS POACHED IN RED WINE, CARDAMOM AND ORANGE

Steps:

• Combine first 7 ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to simmer. Add pears and return mixture to simmer. Reduce heat and simmer slowly until pears are tender when pierced with knife, about 25 minutes. Transfer pears to plate. Boil liquid in saucepan until reduced to 3 cups, about 20 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill pears in poaching liquid. Before serving, rewarm over medium-low heat until pears are heated through.)
• Arrange 1 warm pear and 1 scoop of ice cream on each of 4 plates. Drizzle some poaching liquid over. Sprinkle with biscotti crumbs. Garnish with orange peel strips, if desired, and serve.

PEARS AND FIGS POACHED IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Combine wine, water, sugar, cinnamon, peppercorns, honey, and vanilla bean in a large saucepan. Squeeze in lemon juice, using a strainer to catch seeds, and toss in one of the halves. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, peel pears carefully, leaving stems intact. Place in hot poaching liquid and cover with a lid slightly smaller than the pot to keep pears submerged.
• Turn heat down to a bare simmer and poach pears for 20 to 30 minutes, or until tender (if the pears are not ripe, it could take up to an hour). Turn pears halfway through cooking time. Let cool slightly, then transfer pears to a bowl. Simmer poaching liquid until reduced by half
• Cut figs in half and add to liquid cut side down. Keep heat at a simmer, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. (If using dried figs, poach until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.)
• Carefully transfer figs cut side down to the bowl with the pears, and pour poaching liquid over all. Let cool and chill at least 4 hours, or overnight.
• With a slotted spoon, remove fruit from liquid and place 1 pear and 2 fig halves on each plate. Reduce poaching liquid over medium heat until thick enough to coat a spoon. Serve hot or cold with the fruit. Accompany with a few cookies, whipped cream, or a sweet dessert cheese.